FRY5  PATRIOTIC  STORY 

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LOCATED    IN    BEAUTIFUL 
POTOMAC  PARK— WASHINGTON,D.C. 


LINCOLN  ROOM 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
LIBRARY 


MEMORIAL 

the  Class  of  1901 

founded  by 

HARLAN  HOYT  HORNER 

and 

HENRIETTA  CALHOUN  HORNER 


Copyright  1923,  by  Smith  D.  Fry 


PATRIOTIC  STORY 


OF 


®lj?  Htnroln  immortal 


By  SMITH  D.  FRY 
Historian  of  the  Capitol 


Official  Description  of  the  Shrine 

Inspirational  Description  Uttered  by  One 
Who  Knew  Him  Well 

Wonderful  Stories  of  the  Wonderful  Man 
Never  Narrated  Before 


Copyright,  1923 


Liout .  Col.,   Corps  of  Engineers. 

Superintendent  of  the^Lincoln^Memorial 


THE  LINCOLN  MEMORIAL 


ERECTED  IN  WEST  POTOMAC  PARK,  WASHINGTON,  D.C. 
BY  AUTHORITY  OF  CONGRESS 

(Henry  Bacon,  New  York,  Architect) 

WAR  DEPARTMENT,  CORPS  OF  ENGINEERS 

Office  of 
PUBLIC  BUILDINGS  AND  GBOUNDS 

Lemon  Building 
1729  New  York  Avenue,  N.  W., 
Mr.  Smith  D.  Fry,  Washington,  D.  C,  February  13,  1923. 

Lock  Box  1714, 

Washington,  D.  C. 

Dear  Sir:  I  have  your  letter  of  February  8,  and  beg  to  thank  you  for  your 
kindness  in  sending  me  a  copy  of  your  latest  work,  "  Lincoln  and  Lee,"  which  I 
hope  to  read  with  a  great  deal  of  pleasure. 

With  respect  to  your  request  for  a  couple  of  reliable  and  authoritative  pages 
concerning  the  Lincoln  Memorial,  I  am  sending  you  herewith  a  description  of 
the  Memorial  which  covers  the  foundation,  the  superstructure,  the  statue  and 
the  decorations.  This  is  all  that  we  have  prepared  at  the  present  time,  and  I 
hope  that  it  will  give  you  the  information  that  you  desire. 

Very  truly  yours, 


Lieut  •  Col.,   Corps  of  2n{  iaeers. 


1  Inch 

E.  F.  C.-N.  N.  B. 


THE  FOUNDATIONS 
(The  National  Foundation  &  Engineering  Co.  and  M.  P.  Comer) 

r  I  ^HE  foundations  consist  of  two  portions — that  portion  below  the  level  of  the 
park  is  known  as  the  sub-foundations;  that  portion  above  ground  is  known 
as  the  upper  foundations.  The  sub-foundations  consist  of  122  concrete  piers 
formed  in  steel  cylinders  driven  to  bed  rock,  which  lies  at  a  depth  of  from 
44  to  65  feet.  The  cylinders  were  sunk  by  being  heavily  weighted  and  water- 
jetted  to  a  depth  of  absolute  resistance.  The  earth  was  then  removed  from  each 
cylinder,  the  bed  rock  was  excavated  to  an  additional  depth  of  two  feet,  and  the 
entire  space  was  then  fdled  with  concrete,  reinforced  with  twelve  one-inch  square 
twisted  bars  set  vertically  in  a  cirlce  six  inches  inside  each  cylinder.  The  tops 
of  these  cylinders  at  the  ground  level  are  splayed  out  to  rectangular  shape 


"UNCLE  JOE"  CANNON 
Former  Speaker  of  the  House 


WILLIAM   HOWARD  TAFT 

Former  President  of  the  United  States 


HON.  THOMAS   R.   MARSHALL 
Former  Vice  Pres.  of  the  United  States 


LIEUT.-COL.  C.  O.  SHERRILL 


JOHN  TEMPLE  GRAVES 


HON.  NATHAN  BAY  SCOTT 
Former  U.  S.  Senator  from  West  Virginia 


HON.  CHAMP  CLARK 
F'ormer  Speaker  of  the  House 


HON.  SAMUEL  W.  McCALL 
Former  Governor  of  Massachusetts 


SUPERINTENDENT  SHERRILL  AND  THE   STATESMEN  WHO   SERVED   ON  THE 
LINCOLN   MEMORIAL  COMMITTEE 


(most  of  them  square)  and  are  connected  by  a  grillage  of  reinforced  concrete  one 
foot  thick. 

The  upper  foundations  are  concrete  columns  erected  upon  the  tops  of  these 
piers,  and  are  about  45  feet  in  height,  being  joined  at  their  tops  by  arches 
poured  integrally  with  them.  Some  of  these  columns  are  hollow  and  some  of 
them  are  reinforced. 

THE  SUPERSTRUCTURE 

(George  A.  Fuller  Co.,  Ruilders) 

The  superstructure  is  201  feet,  10  inches  long  by  132  feet  wide  at  the  out- 
side of  the  bottom  step  of  the  stylobate  course. 

It  is  181  feet  long  by  111  feet,  2  inches  wide  along  a  line  running  through 
the  center  of  the  columns  of  the  colonnade. 

It  is  155  feet  6  inches  long  by  85  feet  8  inches  wide  along  the  outside  of  the 
wall  of  the  building. 

It  is  146  feet  6  inches  long  by  65  feet  wide  on  the  interior. 

It  is  57  feet  from  the  floor  of  the  Memorial  Hall  to  the  bronze  beams  of  the 
ceiling. 

There  are  38  columns  in  the  colonnade,  including  the  two  which  stand  in 
the  entrance. 

These  columns  are  44  feet  from  the  bottom  joint  to  the  top  of  the  cap,  and 
are  composed  of  eleven  drums  each,  excluding  the  cap. 

Each  column  is  7  feet  in  diameter  at  the  base,  and  is  set  with  an  entasis 
toward  the  building. 

The  interior  columns  are  5  feet  6  inches  in  diameter  at  the  base,  and  are 
50  feet  high  from  the  floor  to  the  top  of  the  cap. 

The  height  of  the  building  from  the  top  of  the  foundations  to  the  top  of  the 
attic  is  79  feet  10  inches.  The  height  from  bed  rock  to  the  top  of  the  building 
is  therefore  79  feet  10  inches,  plus  45  feet  (the  height  of  the  upper  foundation), 
plus  the  depth  to  bed  rock  (which  varies  from  44  feet  to  65  feet),  making  an 
aggregate  height  of  from  169  to  192  feet. 

The  building  is  constructed  of  marble,  granite,  lime  stone,  brick  and 
concrete. 

The  foundations  and  floor  slabs  are  constructed  of  concrete,  most  of  which 
is  reinforced. 

The  exterior  of  the  building  is  constructed  of  Colorado  Yule  Marble,  from 
quarries  located  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  about  300  miles  west  of  Denver. 
Some  of  the  stones  are  of  unusual  size,  weighing  over  23  tons  each.  This  marble 
was  selected  for  its  superior  qualities  of  color,  texture  and  uniformity,  as  well 
as  for  the  fact  that  no  other  quarries  were  known  to  produce  satisfactory  stones 
of  the  size  required.  There  are  about  208,000  cubic  feet  of  this  material  in  the 
building. 

The  steps,  platforms,  and  check  blocks  are  constructed  of  Pink  Milford 
Granite  from  Massachusetts. 

The  interior  walls,  columns,  and  ceiling  lintels  are  of  Indiana  Lime  Stone. 
There  are  about  43,500  cubic  feet  of  this  material  in  the  building. 

The  interior  floor,  which  is  two  inches  thick,  and  the  wall  base  are  of 
Tennessee  Marble.  The  ceiling  consists  of  bronze  beams  with  rectangular 
openings  in  which  are  placed  slabs,  about  one  inch  thick  of  marble  from  Alabama. 
These  admit  the  light  from  overhead,  through  the  glass  skylight  which  covers 
the  building. 

The  decorative  carving  upon  the  stone  work  was  done  by  Ernest  C.  Rairstow 
of  Washington,  D.  C. 


LIBRARY      - 
UNIVERSITY  OF  It! (ndi* 


®lfp  Nation's  ii>l}rut? 


ONLY   SUCH  WONDERFUL  WORDS  AS  COME  BY 
INSPIRATION;  words  that  peer  into  the  soul  of  hearers 
or  readers;  words  that  can  illuminate  the  imagination  of 
patriotic  intelligence  with  the  irridescence  of  spirituality,  can 


even  approximately  portray  the  LINCOLN  MEMORIAL,  as 
you  view  it  here.  It  is  a  modest  monument  to  the  vision  of  the 
architect,  and  to  the  skill  of  the  master  builders,  while  it  is  at 
the  same  time  exactly  what  each  and  all  of  us  desired,  a  grand, 
glorious,  and  incomparable  LINCOLN  MEMORIAL. 


THE  STATUE 

(Daniel  Chester  French,  Sculptor) 

The  statue  is  executed  in  white  marble.  It  is  a  seated  figure  upon  an  oblong 
pedestal  about  10  feet  high,  17  feet  from  front  to  back  by  16  feet  wide.  The 
plinth  between  the  pedestal  and  the  bottom  of  the  seat  is  one  foot  seven  inches 
thick.  The  statue  is  19  feet  high  from  the  top  of  the  plinth  to  the  top  of  the 
head.  The  extreme  width  of  the  statue  (including  the  drapery  over  the  chair) 
is  19  feet. 

THE  DECORATIONS 
(Jules  Guerin,  Artist,  New  York) 

The  decorations  are  on  canvas,  each  piece  of  which  weighs  600  pounds  and 
cost  $400.  About  150  pounds  of  paint  is  on  each  canvas.  Each  canvas  is 
60  feet  long  and  12  feet  wide.  The  figures  are  8J^  feet  high.  The  decorations 
were  painted  entirely  by  the  artist  without  assistance.  There  are  about  48 
figures  in  the  two  panels.  Almost  as  many  models  as  figures  were  used.  The 
head  of  Mr.  Bacon,  the  architect,  appears  in  the  decoration  on  the  north  wall, 
the  fourth  figure  in  the  group  at  the  left  of  the  Angel. 

The  decorations  are  absolutely  weather-proof,  the  paint  being  mixed  with 
white  wax  and  kerosene.  The  wax  hardens  but  does  not  allow  the  paint  to 
crack  the  chemical.  Chemically,  it  is  similar  to  the  wax  found  in  the  tombs  of 
the  Kings  of  Egypt,  which  is  still  pliable.  The  decorations  are  affixed  to  the 
wall  with  a  mixture  of  white  lead  and  Venetian  varnish. 

The  decorations  are  not  intended  to  tell  a  story,  much  being  left  to  the 
spectator's  imagination.  In  general  terms  the  decorations  on  the  south  wall 
represent  the  emancipation  of  a  race;  the  subordinate  groups  represent  civiliza- 
tion and  progress.  The  decoration  on  the  north  wall  represents  Reunion  and 
Progress  in  the  arts  and  sciences. 


Grandeur  of  Location 

O  ITUATED  on  the  brow  of  a  magnificent  eminence,  visible  from 
^  every  angle,  the  Captiol  at  Washington  has  been  regarded  for 
many  years  as  the  most  imposing  public  building  in  the  world;  because 
of  its  location,  as  well  as  by  reason  of  its  incomparable  architecture. 

But,  the  Lincoln  Memorial  is  imposing  and  glorious  also  by  reason 
of  the  grandeur  of  its  isolation.  The  appropriateness  of  the  setting 
of  the  greatest  of  memorials  to  the  greatest  of  the  Americans  of  our 
day  and  generation,  is  approved  by  all;  the  fitness  of  the  location  being 
beyond  question  and  above  criticism. 

The  Honorable  John  Hay,  diplomat,  statesman,  Secretary  of 
State,  master  of  English  diction,  and  author  of  renown,  and  one  who 
loved  Abraham  Lincoln  from  the  boyhood  days  when  he  was  private 
secretary  to  the  President  of  the  Republic,  has  said : 

"Lincoln  deserves  this  place  of  honor.  He  was  one  of  the 
immortals. 

"One  should  not  approach  too  near  to  the  immortals. 

"His  monument  must  stand  alone,  remote  from  the  common 
habitations  of  men;  far  apart  from  the  business  turmoils  of  a  city. 


FOUR.  SCORE  AND  SEVEN  YEARS 
AGO  OUR  FATHERS  BROUGHT  FORTH 
ON  THIS  CONTINENT  A  NEW  NATION 
CONCEIVED  IN  LIBERTY  AND  DEDICA- 
TED TO  THE  PROPOSITION  THAT  ALL 
MEN    ARE   CREATED    EQ.UAL  • 

NOW  WE  ARE  ENCAGED  IN  A  GREAT 
CIVIL  WAR  TESTING  WHETHER  THAT 
NATION  OR  ANY  NATION  SO  CON- 
CEIVED AND  SO  DEDICATED  CAN  LONG 
ENDURE  •  WE  ARE  MET  ON  A  GREAT 
BATTLEFIELD  OF  THAT  WAR  WE  HAVE 
COME  TO  DEDICATE  A  PORTION  OF 
THAT  FIELD  AS  A  FINAL  RESTING 
PLACE  FOR  THOSE  WHO  HERE  GAVE 
THEIR  LIVES  THAT  THAT  NATION 
MIGHT  LIVE  IT  IS  ALTOGETHER  FIT- 
TING AND  PROPER  THAT  WE  SHOULD 
DO  THIS  •  BUT  IN  A  LARGER  SENSE 
WE  CAN  NOT  DEDiCATE~WE  CAN  NOT 
CONSECRATE -WE  CAN  NOT  HALLOW- 
THIS  GROUND-THE  BRAVE  MEN  LIV- 
ING AND  DEAD  WHO  STRUGGLED  HERE 
HAVE  CONSECRATED  IT  FAR  ABOVE 
OUR  POOR  POWER  TO  ADD  OR  DETRACT 
THE  WORLD  WILL  LITTLE  NOTE  NOR 
LONG  REMEMBER  WHAT  WE  SAY  HERE 
BUT  IT  CAN  NEVER  FORGET  WHAT  THEY 
DID  HERE  ■  IT  IS  FOR  US  THE  LIVING 
RATHER  TO  BE  DEDICATED  HERETO 
THE  UNFINISHED  WORK  WHICH  THEY 
WHO  FOUGHT  HERE  HAVE  THUS  FAR 
SO  NOBLY  ADVANCED  •  IT  IS  RATHER  FOR 
US  TO  BE  HERE  DEDICATED  TO  THE 
GREAT  TASK  REMAINING  BEFORE  US- 
THAT  FROM  THESE  HONORED  DEAD 
WE  TAKE  INCREASED  DEVOTION  TO 
THAT  CAUSE  FOR  WHICH  THEY  GAVE  THE 
LAST  FULL  MEASURE  OF  DEVOTION - 
THAT  WE  HERE  HIGHLY  RESOLVE  THAT 
THESE  DEAD  SHALL  NOT  HAVE  DIED  IN 
VAIN-THATTHIS  NATION  UNDER  GOD 
SHALL  HAVE  A  NEW  BIRTH  OF  FREEDOM- 
AND  THAT  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  PEOPLE 
BY  THE  PEOPLE  FOR  THE  PEOPLE  SHALL 
NOT  PERISH    FROM  THE  EARTH- 


THE   GETTYSBURG  ADDRESS 


President  Taft  appointed  three  Members  of  the  Senate  and  three 
Members  of  the  House,  to  constitute  the  Lincoln  Memorial  Com- 
mission, on  February  20,  1913,  and  that  Commission  acting  in  accord- 
ance with  the  Fine  Arts  Commission,  selected  the  site  in  West  Potomac 
Park,  for  numerous  reasons.  The  two  chief  reasons  actuating  the 
Commission  were,  first  the  admirable  suitability  of  that  locality;  and, 
second,  the  correlative  fact  that  the  great  civil  engineer  L' Enfant,  who 
was  appointed  by  President  Washington,  selected  that  point  for 
"the  axis"  around  which  he  made  the  plans  for  the  founding,  develop- 
ment and  building  of  the  Federal  City,  which  was  to  be  the  Capital 
City  of  the  newly  created  Republic. 

That  spot  is  exactly  in  the  center  of  the  original  "  ten  miles  square  " 
which  was  set  apart  by  the  framers  of  the  Constitution  for  the  proposed 
seat  of  Government. 

On  September  27,  1913,  the  contract  for  initial  foundation  work 
was  given  to  a  firm  well-known  in  Washington;  one  whose  works  on 
public  buildings  had  previously  met  with  official  approval. 

On  February  12,  1914,  with  modest  and  unpretentious  cere- 
monials, the  ground  was  broken;  and  the  great  work  was  begun. 

Very  wisely,  patriotically  and  appropriately,  the  Memorial  Day 
of  the  Republic,  usually  spoken  of  as  "Decoration  Day,"  was  chosen 
for  the  dedication  of  the  completed  Shrine,  and  it  was  dedicated  on 
May  30,  1922;  on  the  day  when  all  of  the  people  of  the  land  were 
decorating  the  graves  of  the  soldiers  of  the  Republic,  as  they  do 
annually  on  that  national  holiday. 

Former  President  Taft  was  present.  Former  President  Wilson 
was  unable  to  attend  the  ceremonies,  because  of  his  unfortunate 
affliction;  but  President  Harding  was  there  and  delivered  a  touchingly 
feeling  and  appropriate  address,  in  memory  of  the  Commander-in- 
Chief  of  the  Army  and  Navy  of  the  Nation ;  the  martyr  leader  whose 
life  was  yielded  in  the  cause,  the  almost  internecine  strife  in  which 
so  many  thousands  of  lives  had  been  sacrificed. 

Although  Abraham  Lincoln  "belongs  to  the  ages,"  as  a  man  of 
incomparable  greatness,  chiefly  because  of  his  issuance  of  the  Procla- 
mation of  Emancipation,  his  greatest  oratorical  utterance,  a  master- 
piece of  pure  English,  was  the  Gettysburg  Address. 


Word  Portrait  of  the  Peasant  Prince 

PROVIDENTIALLY,  it  now  seems,  during  a  kindly  and  paternal 
conversation  with  the  narrator  several  years  now  past,  an  aging 
and  wise  elderly  gentleman  uttered  the  most  incomparable  and 
the  most  marvelous  description  of  Abraham  Lincoln  ever  conceived; 
and  it  was  then  given  wide  dissemination  in  newspaper  publications. 


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Incidentally  it  must  be  noticed  that  the  leading-  men  of  the  North 
and  of  the  South  knew  each  other  well.  Those  in  civil  life  and  those 
in  military  life  were  well  acquainted;  and,  when  the  disunion  came  so 
speedily  after  that  great  reception  at  Arlington,  the  leading  antagonists 
knew  and  could  respect  the  merits  and  mental  calibers  of  each  other. 

But,  at  that  time,  on  that  particular  date,  there  was  one 
Member  of  the  House  of  Representatives  who  was  not  very  well 
known.  He  was  not  included  in  the  list  of  guests  invited  to  the  great 
reception.  That  he  failed  to  receive  an  invitation  was  not  because  of 
his  obscurity  only.  His  name  was  well  known.  His  one  term  of  two 
years  was  concluded,  and  he  was  preparing  to  return  to  his  distant 
home,  after  calling  and  paying  his  respects  to  the  recently  inaugurated 
President,  Zachary  Taylor. 

But,  even  if  he  had  remained  in  Washington  City,  the  obscure 
Member  would  not  have  received  an  invitation  to  the  reception.  It 
was  utterly  impossible  that  he  could  even  expect  an  invitation,  for  he 
belonged  and  he  knew  that  he  belonged  to  that  class  of  citizens  known 
as  "poor  white  trash."  He  was  known  to  be  a  working  man.  It  was 
known  that  he  had  always  been  kept  hard  at  work  for  his  bread  and 
butter.  Men  of  the  working  classes  were  not  expected  to  invade  the 
classes  of  the  prosperous;  and  they  did  not  expect  to  receive  invitations. 
This  neglected  Member  of  Congress  had  been  working  on  farms  of  the 
western  frontier  of  American  civilization.  Quite  a  large  part  of  his 
lifetime  had  been  spent  in  felling  trees,  cutting  them  into  logs,  for 
home  building.  Thousands  of  those  felled  trees,  after  having  been  cut 
into  logs,  this  Member  of  Congress  had  split  into  rails  for  the  building 
of  fences.  He  was  known,  and  contemptuously  known,  as  "a  rail 
splitter."     His  home  was  in  Illinois,  and 

His  Name  Was  Abraham  Lincoln 

r  I  ^HERE  was  complete  contentment  in  his  obscurity.  He  sat  alone 
-*-  in  his  room  on  the  top  floor  of  Gadsby's  Hotel;  a  room  to  which  he 
was  obliged  to  climb,  for  there  were  no  elevators  in  those  days;  and 
in  that  room  on  the  night  after  the  inauguration,  there  came  to  him 
visions  of  his  prairie  home  and  the  frontier  friends  with  whom  he  was 
popular;  and  the  coming  gorgeous  reception  received  not  even  a  passing 
thought;  certainly  not  a  wish  nor  a  regret  in  the  simple  and  honest 
heart  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 

On  the  contrary,  the  new  Congressman  was  solemnly  reflective, 
saying  to  himself: 

"Our  Father  in  Heaven  has  been  very  good  to  me.  He  has  led 
me  out  of  the  wilderness  of  poverty  and  anxiety  into  the  Promised 
Land  of  peace  and   plenty.     He  leadeth  me  by   still  waters.     He 


d.iM    fi* 


PRESIDENT  HARDING  DELIVERING  HIS  ADDRESS  AT  THE 
DEDICATION,   MAY  30,   1922 


THE  PRESIDENT  PASSING  THROUGH  THE   CROWD  AT  THE  DEDICATION 


restoreth  my  soul.  M>  ways  now  are  ways  of  pleasantness  and  all  of 
my  paths  are  paths  of  contentment.  And,  Mother  has  plenty,  too. 
Praise  the  Lord!" 

As  he  prepared  for  "tired  Nature's  sweet  restorer,  balmy  sleep," 
he  glanced  at  the  big  old-fashioned  bedstead,  and  smiled.  It  reminded 
him  of  the  big  bed  in  the  rooming  house  of  old  Mrs.  Bedloe,  in  Spring- 
field, where,  only  a  few  years  before,  he  had  experienced  difficulty  in 
earning  the  money  with  which  to  pay  a  modest  monthly  rental. 

Vivid  memory  brought  before  him  a  moving  picture  of  old  Father 
Speed,  the  gentleman  from  Kentucky  who  kept  the  general  store  at 
Springfield;  the  kind  of  a  store  that  lives  only  in  history;  or,  in  the 
memories  of  those  now  old  and  gray  or  bald,  or  both.  In  those  days 
the  "frontier  general  store"  carried  a  stock  of  everything,  from  pins 
and  needles  to  buffalo  robes  and  bullet  molds;  also  molds  for  making 
tallow  candles. 

This  merchant  (Speed)  had  a  young  man  from  Louisville  as  his 
principal  clerk;  although  he  employed  others  as  they  were  needed  by 
the  day  or  week.  One  damp,  chilly,  windy  day  of  November  the 
young  lawyer  (Lincoln)  came  into  the  big  caravansary  of  merchandise, 
which  covered  almost  half  an  acre  of  ground,  sat  silently  beside  one 
of  the  big  cannon  stoves  which  heated  the  place,  until  he  caught  Speed 
at  leisure  for  a  minute,  and  Lincoln  said: 

"Speed,  I  want  to  know  what  it  will  cost  for  a  single  bedstead, 
mattress  and  a  pillow.  I've  got  a  big  buffalo  robe,  which  I  use  in  the 
cutter  when  I  am  obliged  to  travel;  and  that  robe  will  do  for  a  covering 
at  nights  on  my  bed.  I  have  two  rooms  at  my  shack.  The  front  room 
is  all  the  law  office  I  need,  and  I  can  make  a  bedroom  of  the  back  room 
and  thus  save  rent.  Times  are  awful  hard  and  if  I  can  buy  a  little 
bed  and  outfit,  with  time  to  pay  for  it,  I  can  save  quite  a  bit  of  money 
in  rent  in  the  course  of  the  year." 

That  little  statement  told  of  poverty  and  of  a  struggle  for  existence 
without  thinking  of  comfort,  much  less  of  luxury.  Abraham  Lincoln 
was  poor;  yes,  pitifully  poor. 

When  Lincoln  Moved 

After  some  conversation  on  the  subject  Speed  told  the  young 
lawyer,  whom  he  liked  very  much  and  for  whom  he  had  a  special  regard, 
because  of  his  having  been  born  in  Kentucky;  for  Kentuckians  are 
clannish,  always  have  been,  and  may  they  always  continue  to  be, 
neighborly  clannish;  so  Speed  liked  Lincoln  and  told  him  that  his 
clerk,  the  young  man  from  Louisville,  was  going  back  home  on  the 
following  day,  which  was  Saturday;  that  he  was  to  be  married  and 
remain  in  Kentucky.  Speed  then  asked  the  poor  young  lawyer  to  go 
upstairs  with  him.  and  Lincoln  accompanied  him. 


THE  HEART  OF  THE   MEMORIAL 


The  second  story  (and  it  was  the  top  story,  too)  contained  hun- 
dreds of  barrels  and  boxes  of  merchandise  of  all  sorts.  Threads  were 
strung  all  around  the  walls  and  ceilings,  and  they  carried  dried  apples 
and  dried  peaches  for  sale  and  use  during  the  winter.  In  the  center, 
near  the  sheetiron  "drum"  which  surrounded  the  stovepipe  and  radi- 
ated heat  for  that  upper  floor,  there  was  a  big  bedstead,  with  feather 
bed  and  feather  pillows,  and  also  plenty  of  bedding.     Speed  said: 

"If  you  can  get  along  here,  Abe,  you  can  have  this  place,  rent 
free,  until  you  get  better  fixed.  Take  the  place,  save  rent,  keep  warm, 
be  comfortable,  and  take  what  you  want  to  eat  out  of  the  store;  and 
pay  me,  boy,  when  you  get  good  and  ready." 

Gravely  and  sincerely  Lincoln  thanked  Speed  for  the  offer,  knelt 
down  beside  the  bed  for  a  couple  of  minutes  and  went  downstairs. 
There  was  no  telephone  to  use  in  those  days.  There  was  no  transfer 
company.  Drays  were  few  and  far  between  on  that  day  when  Lincoln 
wanted  to  move  his  household  goods.  But  he  managed  to  pack  up 
all  his  belongings  that  afternoon  and  move.  Inside  of  half  an  hour 
after  leaving  the  store  Abraham  Lincoln  came  back,  carrying  across 
his  shoulders  an  old-fashioned  pair  of  saddle  bags,  such  as  were  carried 
on  horses'  backs  back  of  the  saddle.  Lincoln  passed  through  the 
store,  went  upstairs,  walked  to  the  bed  and  was  heard  to  drop  the 
saddle  bags.  Then  he  ran  lightly  downstairs,  went  to  the  big  cannon 
stove,  sat  down  in  an  old,  well-whittled  chair,  poked  his  big  feet  up 
against  the  railing  around  the  stove,  looked  at  the  proprietor  and  said: 

"Well,  Speed,  I've  moved!" 

The  Year  of  the  Comet 

You  never  heard  of  the  wrath  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  did  you? 
Well,  General  Tom  Ewing  of  Indiana  told  the  old-timers  on  ancient 
Newspaper  Row,  in  Washington  city,  an  incident  which  he  termed 
"a  narrow  escape  from  the  just  wrath  of  President  Lincoln." 

To  understand  it  thoroughly  the  average  reader  must  ask  old 
grand-pa  or  grand-ma  to  describe  the  immense  comet  which  overcast 
the  sky,  really  overspreading  it,  for  many  moons  in  the  year  of  1857. 

Excepting  the  few  scientists  who  comprehended  the  history  of  the 
comet,  all  of  the  people  of  the  world  were  frightened;  and  the  plain 
people  of  this  country  were  praying  and  following  a  sect  called  "  Miller- 
ites,"  who  had  been  predicting  the  end  of  the  world  at  that  time.  It 
was  during  the  height  of  the  excitement,  apprehension  and  alarm 
caused  by  the  comet  that  General  Ewing  was  in  Vincennes,  Ind., 
ready  to  take  a  coach  for  transportation  to  Indianapolis.     He  said: 

"In  front  of  the  hotel  there  was  a  four-horse  old-fashioned  coach 
with  a  very  venerable  driver.     On  the  rear  seat  I  found  a  rustic 


HENRY   BACON,    ARCHITECT    (AT   RIGHT),    AND    DANIEL    CHESTER 
FRENCH,   SCULPTOR,  AT  BASE   OF   STATUE 


farmer,  or  farmer's  son,  making  himself  comfortable.     Now,  I  did  not 
want  to  ride  backward,  so  I  approached  him  and  said : 

'  My  dear  fellow,  Governor  Willard  of  Indiana  is  coming  out  in 
a  minute  and  I  know  that  it  makes  the  Governor  seasick  to  ride  back- 
ward. So,  if  you  don't  mind,  it  would  be  a  nice  thing  if  you  would 
take  the  front  seat  and  leave  the  rear  seat  for  the  Governor.' 

"The  farmer  picked  up  his  straw  hat.  put  it  on  his  bushy  mat  of 
black  hair  and  through  his  black  whiskers  came  the  words,  very  cheer- 
fully spoken: 

'  'All  right,  let  the  Governor  have  the  back  seat.  I  guess  I 
won't  get  seasick,  as  I  have  never  been  to  sea.' 

"Gathering  his  cheap  linen  duster  around  his  skeleton  and  picking 
up  his  big  carpetbag,  the  lanky  fellow  sidled  across,  took  the  front 
seat  and  left  the  best  seat,  the  back  one,  for  Governor  Willard  of 
Indiana,  and  also  for  his  diplomatic  friend,  General  Tom  Ewing. 

The  Tale  of  a  Comet 

"It  was  a  rainy  day  and  we  traveled  over  an  awfully  muddy  road, 
through  a  sea  of  mud.  Governor  Willard  and  I  talked  about  the 
comet,  what  the  newspapers  were  saying  and  what  the  magazines 
were  guessing  about  it.  The  lanky  one  asked  several  questions,  show- 
ing some  knowledge  of  current  rumor,  and  we  put  him  off  with  brief, 
pert  answers.  Finally  he  addressed  me  by  name,  although  I  had  not 
given  him  any  name,  and  asked: 

"  '  General  Ewing,  if  you  know  what  effect  this  comet  will  have 
on  the  earth  I  will  be  obliged  for  the  information.' 

"Afterwards  I  remembered  his  decent  and  respectful  manner,  but 
at  the  time  I  was  annoyed,  and  shut  him  up  for  good  by  saying: 

"  '  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  derned  thing  will  grip  up  this  earth 
and  run  away  to  hell  with  it.' 

"That  finished  him  for  the  day.  He  asked  no  more,  but  respect- 
fully listened,  as  we  expected  him  to  do.  When  we  got  to  Indianapolis 
in  the  evening  the  gawky  fellow  rubbed  resentment  and  reproach  into 
my  soul  by  jumping  out  into  the  mud,  picking  up  a  plank,  placing  it 
where  Governor  Willard  and  I  could  walk  to  the  board  sidewalk 
dry-shod,  and  he  disappeared  into  the  hotel  before  either  one  of  us 
could  utter  an  expression  of  appreciation.  Governor  Willard  said 
that  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  couldn't  have  done  the  act  any  better. 

"  Half  an  hour  later  Governor  Willard  and  I  were  at  one  of  the  big 
tables  in  the  dining  room,  which  was  crowded,  when  the  farmer  came 
in,  looked  around  for  a  seat  and  moved  toward  our  table.  I  asked 
Governor  Willard  if  I  should  invite  the  fellow  to  our  table,  and  was 
advised  to  do  so,  for  there  was  a  vacant  seat  next  to  Governor  Wil- 
lard, and  I  motioned  for  the  tall  country  fellow  to  come,  and  he  came. 


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"He  looked  a  great  deal  better.  He  had  combed  his  shock  of 
black  hair  and  had  somehow  smoothed  his  whiskers.  He  wore  a  black 
Prince  Albert  coat,  which  was  some  worn,  but  looked  genteel.  As  he 
came  alongside  of  us  he  thanked  Governor  Willard,  and  also  thanked 
me,  for  the  honor  of  a  seat  at  our  table. 

"Apparently  he  was  a  very  light  eater,  although  he  was  a  tall 
fellow  and  big  enough  to  swing  a  heavy  scythe  or  rake  in  a  harvest 
field.  He  finished  while  the  Governor  and  I  were  taking  dessert,  and 
as  he  arose  he  thanked  us  again  for  the  honor,  and  asked  Governor 
Willard  if  he  might  tell  folks  out  West  that  he  had  sat  at  the  same  table 
at  supper  with  Governor  Willard  of  Indiana,  and  the  Governor 
graciously  gave  him  that  permission. 

"The  Governor,  having  dressed  in  my  room  for  the  evening, 
descended  the  stairs  with  me,  as  he  was  intending  soon  to  go  to  the 
executive  mansion.  We  heard  gay  laughter  and  rounds  of  applause 
in  the  parlor,  and  I  asked  one  of  the  old  hotel  employes  who  the  tall 
man  was  that  stood  in  the  parlor,  and  whom  the  people  were  so  lustily 
cheering,  and  his  reply  was: 

'That  is  a  lawyer  from  out  West  somewhere,  Illinois  I  believe. 
He  comes  here  two  or  three  times  a  year.  His  name  is  Lincoln, 
Abraham  Lincoln,  and  he  is  a  fine  story  teller.' 

"The  ride,  the  story  of  the  comet,  the  supper  and  all  were  for- 
gotten soon,  but  in  the  spring  of  1861,  less  than  four  years  later,  I  went 
to  Washington  city  to  ask  that  same  gawky  fellow  to  appoint  me  to  the 
important  and  desirable  office  of  minister  to  Mexico.  Although  I  had 
the  hearty  indorsement  of  the  leading  Republicans  of  Indiana,  I 
realized  that  I  was  facing  the  pent-up  wrath  of  the  man  whom  I  had 
directly  and  keenly  insulted  on  that  occasion,  and  needlessly,  too,  for 
he  had  been  gentlemanly  and  courteous,  while  I  had  been  boorish. 

"I  told  my  friends  about  it,  and  they  were  prepared  with  bushels 
of  excuses  for  me.  But,  fortunately,  the  big  man  in  the  White  House 
looked  me  over  very  keenly,  did  not  recognize  me,  grasped  my  hand 
very  cordially  and  said: 

;  'General  Ewing,  the  country  needs  men  of  experience;  men  who 
are  indorsed  as  you  are  by  big  men.  Unfortunately  for  you  individu- 
ally, however,  I  have  promised  that  place  to  Tom  Corwin  of  Ohio. 
I  have  chosen  him  for  the  position  of  minister  to  Mexico.' 

"I  believed,  and  my  friends  believed,  that  he  was  merely  throwing 
the  harpoon  of  vengeance  into  me,  but  he  was  not.  He  really  did  not 
remember  me,  and  he  said:  'Now  I  hope  that  you  will  look  over  the 
list  of  possibilities,  select  something  substantially  as  good  and  come 
back  to  me.  The  country  needs  veteran  soldiers  and  men  of  experience 
who  have  proved  their  love  of  country.  Come  and  see  me  again,  and 
we  will  get  together  somehow.' 


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"Within  a  week  I  called  again,  properly  accompanied,  and  asked 
to  be  made  minister  to  Brazil,  and  President  Lincoln  gave  me  a  note 
to  the  Secretary  of  State,  ordering  that  appointment.  It  was  made 
and  promptly  confirmed  by  the  Senate. 

"Just  about  one  month  I  spent  at  the  Department  of  State  receiv- 
ing instructions  concerning  the  duties  of  the  position.  Then  when  I 
was  ready  to  go  to  Brazil  I  was  accompanied  to  the  White  House  by 
the  Secretary  of  State,  William  H.  Seward,  to  receive  my  final  instruc- 
tions from  the  President  and  to  say  good-by  to  him. 

"President  Lincoln  gave  me  greater,  better,  more  comprehensive 
instructions  than  I  had  received  at  the  Department  of  State.  He  was 
very  earnest,  very  grave  and  thoroughly  impressed  me  with  the  trust 
which  was  reposed  in  me  by  my  country.  He  made  me  understand 
that  the  diplomatic  representatives  of  some  countries  of  South  America, 
and  of  all  except  Russia  in  the  countries  of  Europe,  would  be  likely 
to  mislead  me  into  quarrels  or  controversies.  My  duty  was  to  keep 
sober  and  calm  under  all  circumstances.  Nothing  unexpected  should 
be  allowed  to  unbalance  my  mental  equilibrium.  One  careless  deed 
or  word  of  mine  might  prove  to  be  of  grave  danger,  possibly  fatal  to 
our  country. 

"Secretary  Seward  listened  carefully,  as  I  did.  At  the  conclu- 
sion of  the  audience  President  Lincoln  bade  me  bood-by  and  godspeed, 
went  to  the  door  with  the  Secretary  and  me  and  there  he  took  my 
hand  and  heartily  squeezed  it  in  his  powerful  grip  and  said: 

1  'Now  you  do  your  duty;  I  will  do  my  duty,  and  between  us,' 
here  he  threw  his  long  left  arm  around  my  shoulders  and  added,  'we 
ought  to  be  able,  Tom,  to  keep  that  derned  old  comet  from  running  to 
hell  with  this  old  earth.     Good-by.'  ' 


Contentment  in  Obscurity 

ARLINGTON  MANSION,  on  the  Virginia  Heights  opposite  the 
City  of  Washington,  was  the  scene  of  the  greatest  and  most  mag- 
nificent Public  Reception  ever  given  and  attended  on  this  continent. 

It  was  on  March  8,  1849,  and  the  host  of  the  occasion  was  George 
Washington  Parke  Custis,  the  son  of  the  only  son  of  Martha  Wash- 
ington; who  had  been  the  adopted  son  of  George  Washington.  He  was 
a  gentleman  worthy  of  his  grandmother,  and  always  a  credit  to  the 
instructions  and  teachings  of  the  Father  of  his  country  who  loved  him, 
and  whose  memory  he  revered  with  almost  idolatrous  loyalty. 

Never  before  and  never  afterwards  was  there  such  a  picture  of 
pride  and  power  and  pomp  in  this  country;  and  no  such  picture  can 
ever  again  be  presented.    Over  the  some-time  famous  old  Long  Bridge, 


READING  THE  BIBLE  WITH  HIS  FAVORITE  BOY,   "TAD" 


there  was  a  procession  of  gentlemen  on  horse  back,  ladies  in  carriages, 
individual  parties  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  riding  high-stepping  thor- 
oughbreds; and  all  of  those  ladies  and  gentlemen  were  individuals  of 
the  upper  tendom  of  exclusive  society.  They  represented  the  incipient 
nobility  of  this  republic.  Wealth  flashed  its  jewels  and  expensive 
apparels,  but  the  nobility  of  intelligence  also  was  there,  and  compelled 
implicit  obedience  to  the  declaration  that  "all  men  are  created  equal." 

Only  in  memory  of  the  aged  and  ageing,  and  only  upon  the  pages 
of  history  can  the  Long  Bridge  live.  Such  styles  of  raiment  for  men 
as  well  as  for  women  cannot  now  be  reproduced,  nor  ever  will  be;  and 
never  upon  any  stage  can  be  depicted  the  scene  of  that  procession  of 
the  elect  across  that  highway  to  the  Arlington  estate,  through  the 
embowered  roadways  ascending  Arlington  Heights,  and  into  the  great 
enclosure  of  landscape  surrounding  the  mansion. 

Gayety  prevailed,  happiness  was  the  dominating  spirit  of  the 
occasion.  Although  ambition  may  have  shrouded  the  hearts  of 
some  of  the  guests  there,  as  everywhere,  even  the  faces  of  those  were 
masked  with  smiles  as  seemingly  real  as  the  indescribable  smiles  of 
innocence  upon  the  beautiful  faces  of  babes  in  the  arms  of  mothers. 

And  so,  at  the  appointed  time  on  the  afternoon  of  March  8,  1849, 
a  wonderfully  beautiful  spring-time  day,  joy  was  unconfined;  and  as 
the  guests  began  to  arrive  a  line  was  formed  along  the  graveled  path- 
way south  of  the  mansion;  lively  chattering  and  gossiping  echoing  in 
the  trees  not  unlike  the  musical  discussions  of  the  myriads  of  birds. 

And,  while  the  reception  was  at  the  pinnacle  of  perfection  and 
"soft  eyes  looked  love  to  eyes  that  spake  again,  and  all  went  merry  as 
a  marriage  bell."  the  weather  was  developing  mischief.  "The  snow, 
the  beautiful  snow,"  was  mantling  the  land,  and,  while  the  sun  was 
placing  its  good-night  kiss  upon  the  Federal  City,  and  was  touching 
with  gold  the  tall  tree  tops  while  it  purpled  the  distant  hills,  the  winds 
began  to  whistle  weird  warnings. 

Consequently  there  was  another  moving  picture  on  the  Long 
Bridge;  a  picture  of  unrestrained  gayety  and  undiminished  happiness, 
as  the  returning  procession  proceeded  upon,  over  and  through  the  white 
roadway.  Bright  eyes  were  brighter  and  roseate  cheeks  in  perfect 
health  became  ruddy  and  glowing  as  the  rich  and  the  great,  in  the  pomp 
and  the  pride  of  their  worldly  estate,  rode,  marched  and  ambled  home- 
ward. That  night  many  a  gallant  knight  and  many  a  lady  fair  retired  to 
comfortable  beds  to  "listen  to  the  patter  of  the  soft  rain  overhead." 

You  should  have  been  told  before  that,  although  useful  and  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  contiguous  mankind,  the  Long  Bridge  was  not 
ornamental,  and  there  were  no  solemn  obsequies  when  it  was  destroyed 
to  make  room  for  the  modern  highway  bridge,  an  architectural  achieve- 
ment which  is  as  beautiful  as  it  is  useful.  But,  between  the  two 
pictures  of  the  bridge  we  must  return  and  participate  in 


^ 1 


LINCOLN  AND  HIS  GENERALS,  TAKEN  AFTER  THE  BATTLE  OF  ANTIETAM,  AT 

ANTIETAM,  MARYLAND 

1.  Col.  DeLos  B.  Sackett;  2.  Maj.  Montieth;  3.  Gen.  N.  B.  Sweitzer;  4.  Gen.  G.  W.  Morell;  5.  (Not 

identified);  6.  Gen.  Geo.  B.  McClellan;  7.  Scout  Adams;  8.  Col.  Alexander  S.  Webb;  9.  Gen.  Geo; 

A.  Custer;  10.  President  Lincoln;  11.  Gen.  H.  J.  Hunt;  12.  Gen.  Fitz  John  Porter;  13.  Pinkerton. 

14.  Col.  Fred  Locke;  15.  Gen.  A.  A.  Humphrey;  16.  Col.  Bacheldor,  Ordnance  Officer,  5th  Army 

Corps. 
This  photo  was  taken  by  A.  Gardener,  located  at  that  time  at  511  Seventh  street,  Washington,  D.  C. 


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AUTOGRAPHED  PAROLE 


On  the  lower  step  of  the  great  Greek  Portico  of  the  Arlington 
Mansion  stood  the  receiving  line,  George  Washington  Parke  Custis, 
then  65  years  of  age,  dressed  in  the  garments  of  Colonial  days,  and 
next  to  him  his  wife;  next  to  her  the  son-in-law  of  whom  they  both 
were  very  proud,  Lieutenant  Colonel  Robert  E.  Lee,  and  next  to  him 
the  wife  who  loved  him  with  an  almost  matchless  affection. 

The  Marine  Band  was  then  an  infant  musical  organization  under 
the  direction  of  Professor  Scala,  and  the  members  of  that  band  were 
properly  located  on  the  portico. 

At  the  head  of  the  receiving  line  of  that  greatest  home  reception 
ever  held  in  this  republic  came  Zachary  Taylor,  President  of  the 
United  States,  next  to  him  Millard  Fillmore,  Vice  President  of  the 
United  States;  Howell  Cobb  of  Georgia,  Speaker  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  and  following  them  the  Members  of  the  United  States 
Senate  and  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  next  to  them  the 
Members  of  the  Cabinet  of  the  new  Administration. 


HIS  FAVORITE  PLACE   OF  REST  IN  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 


r»*A 


ALL   OF  FRY'S  PATRIOTIC  STORIES  DISSEMINATE 

THE  AMERICAN'S  CREED 

by 


I  BELIEVE  in  the  United  States  of  America  as  a  government 
of  the  people,  by  the  people,  for  the  people,  whose  just 
powers  are  derived  from  the  consent  of  the  governed;  a 
democracy  in  a  republic;  a  sovereign  Nation  of  many  sovereign 
States;  a  perfect  Union,  one  and  inseparable,  established  upon 
those  principles  of  freedom,  equality,  justice,  and  humanity  for 
which  American  patriots  sacrificed  their  lives  and  fortunes. 

I  therefore  believe  it  is  my  duty  to  my  country  to  love  it; 
to  support  its  Constitution;  to  obey  its  laws;  to  respect  its  flag; 
and  to  defend  it  against  all  enemies. 


MODEL.  PRINTING  COMPANY 
WASHINGTON 


